Stash-Busting Afghan Projects

The first thing I think of when I think of stash busting is a really big blanket. I guess that’s because I’m working on a really big blanket, and have been on and off (mostly off, admittedly) for about a year now. It’s in strips that are 6 feet long, and I’m hoping to make it 6 feet wide, if I can stand it that long (there is no worry of running out of yarn before it’s that size). It will be massively huge, heavy, warm, completely unwashable and awesome. And it will use a lot of yarn.

You can find more Stash Busting Knitting patterns here

I guess that’s the main reason afghans and stash busting go together, because they’re a great way to use up a lot of yarn. You can make individual squares with the different colors, or just let it stripe, or make log cabin blocks and sew them together. (Speaking of log cabins, check out the Parcheesi Afghan by Janine Bajus, which combines log cabin squares and garter stitch borders.

You don’t really need a pattern for a project like this. It can be as simple as knitting long strips and sewing them together when you’re done (as in this project, Blankety-Blank, from Completely Cauchy), which has the benefit of being more portable than my join as you go method. If you want a slightly more organized look, try the N² Imaginations Stashbuster Afghan.

Mitered squares are another great choice for stash-busting, because you can make them small or large and they’re really portable and easy once you get the hang of the shaping. The Stained Glass Mitered Afghan by Joan L. Hamer is a beauty and a free Ravelry download. Looking for more Stained glass style knitting patterns? Check these out on Etsy.

Looking for a shape that’s not quite square? Why not knit “squares” that are shaped like fish, as in this project from April Broken? Or try Frankie Brown’s little buttons, which are still square but are filled with fluff to make a puffy blanket. (Frankie also has the amazing 10-Stitch Blanket, which is worked in a squareish spiral so that you never have more than 10 stitches on the needle at a time.)

If you want to get really crazy, check out the Oddball Sampler Afghan by Sarah Bradberry, which is made up of all sorts of different squares.

And if you’re willing to pay for a pattern, the beekeeper’s quilt by tiny owl knits is a classic with its puffy hexies. Lee Meredith also has a cool-looking project in her Color-by-Number Stash-Busting Blanket, which uses fun tricks for minimal finishing.

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

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